Despite much campaigning from the AMPAS to make this season’s Oscar show a success, and despite some fantastic and deserving wins, there seem to be more complaints than compliments from the unusual ceremony. BLAKE & WANG P.A Entertainment Lawyer Los Angeles takes a look at what’s troubling people about this iconic Hollywood institution.
Much has been made of the absence of Anthony Hopkins from the ceremony this year, despite The Father’s many successes. While a man in his eighties not choosing to undertake the grueling travel experience and exposure risk that would have been needed is perhaps not all that scandalous, many see it as telling, too. Some hold it as symbolic of the decline of the ceremony in the eyes of the public as well as participants. It’s certainly no lie that the Oscars has, against its will, come to be seen as ‘celebrities patting each other on the back’ over recent years -a noted institution, yes, but far from a relevant one to Joe Average.
Brandon Blake Entertainment Lawyer
The public perception has become that the Oscars focuses on ‘worthy’, narrow-audience films that bear little resemblance to what’s popular at the Box Office. While the recent ceremony saw the name Netflix become ubiquitous, its nominees were not drawn from ‘popular’ fare, and few audience-noted projects were on display even from the popular streamer. With the many disruptions of the last year, we’ve seen a substantial swing to a business-driven, IP-hungry, streaming-dominated model in the industry, begging the question of whether even the industry itself has any real perceived value in these niche products.
Yet the Oscars grinds on as-is, with celebs widely seen as singing each other’s praises and lecturing the ‘little man’ about politics not wholly to the ceremony. Is it now merely a legacy show, an excuse for industry leaders to socialize and celebrate? There was certainly a very hollow ring to this year, one in which few ‘regular’ people have anything to celebrate at all. The upcoming 2022 season could well mark whether the Oscars adapt to public relevance once again, or simply fades from its iconic spot in the limelight. Only time will tell- but BLAKE & WANG P.A will be there to keep you in the loop!
